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Kidnap victim's sister offers thanks and seeks privacy

Published:Thursday | May 9, 2013 | 12:00 AM
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A Cleveland policeman carries balloons and flowers to the front porch of a home awaiting the arrival of Amanda Berry on Wednesday in Cleveland. Berry, 27, Michelle Knight, 32, and DeJesus, about 23, had apparently been held captive in the house since their teens or early 20s, police said. - AP photos
Beth Serrano, sister of Amanda Berry, reads a statement to the media after the arrival of Berry at her home in Cleveland. Berry is one of three women missing for about a decade and apparently held captive in the house in Cleveland, police said.
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CLEVELAND (AP):

Amanda Berry, who was imprisoned in a house here with two other women until they managed to escape earlier this week, returned to a family home yesterday for the first time since her disappearance about a decade ago.

The years of captivity ended late Monday when Berry, who had not been seen since she left her job at a local Burger King on April 21, 2003, when she was 17, appeared at the front door of 2207 Seymour Avenue, where the police said she and two other women were held.

Yesterday, Berry's sister's home, about a 10-minute drive from the Seymour Avenue residence, was decorated with balloons, yellow ribbons and posters welcoming her back as crowds gathered across the street, as directed by the police, to await her return. Before noon, a motorcade escorted by police motorcycles pulled up to the home, and several people hurried inside.

THANKFUL

Berry was inside the house briefly before her sister, Beth Serrano, stepped outside and spoke to reporters, saying Amanda and her daughter were home and wanted to "thank the public and media for their support".

As authorities continued investigating, more details trickled out about what the women endured throughout their captivity. Chief Michael McGrath of the Cleveland police, told the Today show yesterday that the women had been tied up inside the house and that investigators found ropes and chains.

McGrath, asked about the reports that the women were physically bound, said: "We have confirmed that. We have confirmation that they were bound, and there were chains and ropes in the home."

After two neighbours freed Berry by kicking in the chained front door and helped her make an urgent call to 911, the three Castro brothers were arrested.